[2009-03-30] Stay-tab chainmail
This lampshade is made almost entirely from stay tabs that are interlocked together without wires or fasteners of any type, using a kind of "chain mail" technique that I invented. The top row is wired to the upper loop of an old lampshade frame with its paper cover removed (And recycled! Heh.), and the bottom row is wired to the lower loop of the same lampshade frame, just to give it some weight so it'll hang straight. I've already started saving colored anodized tabs like those on Red Bull cans so I can make colored patterns in the mail. I'll probably begin with a simple barbershop pole design.
Careful study of the photograph will probably tell you all you need to know about the chaining technique. Each tab is bent to approximately 120 degrees and then snipped at the top. The top loop of the tab is then threaded through the bottom loops of two adjacent tabs on the row above. Rinse and repeat to create mail.
last modified 2009-03-30